


Winter Wonderland with Mr. Dixon

by coveryourheads (rsk110)



Series: with Mr. Dixon [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Established Relationship, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 12:10:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6116064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rsk110/pseuds/coveryourheads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Third part to Mr. Dixon stories.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winter Wonderland with Mr. Dixon

Winter Wonderland with Mr. Dixon

 

Glenn drives his car without a care, shifting up and down, not even paying attention to how his gears are protesting at him.  Damn this traffic, Glenn yells in his head.  His phone beeps with messages.  It vibrates and rings the song Amy has set as her special ringtone.  He ignores his phone altogether.  It’s supposed to be a happy holiday for them.  Them, as in he and Mr. Dixon – Daryl – had plans for the winter break.  At least, Glenn had thought they did.  He’d sent emails and messages and had told Daryl that for winter break he’d be home.  He’d also explained that his family was going to their grandma’s place in Chicago for a week and that he’d opted not to go.  He’d called Daryl when he’d gotten into his car to drive home from school.

 

‘Hey, I’m on my way.  It’ll take me about three hours to get home.’

 

‘I gotta go.’

 

‘Okay?’

 

‘No, I mean, I got something…  I gotta go.’

 

‘Daryl, what’s going on?’

 

‘I’ll talk to you later, but I won’t be home when you get here.’  And like that, Daryl had hung up on him.

 

Glenn is now ignoring all the rules of traffic to get home as quickly as he can.  He’s cussing and waving his fist at the slow drivers, some dude who keeps speeding up to cut him off and get caught behind slow cars to do it again.  It’s like that until Glenn sees his exit.  The dude is stuck behind the multi-car accident caused traffic, not twenty feet after the exit.  Glenn can’t help the sneer.  He doesn’t even yield at any of the stop signs or any of the red lights.  He gets home in record time.  His parents are surprised when he walks into the house, dropping his duffel bag by the door.

 

“I’ll be back for dinner!”  He announces loudly and gets into his car again.

 

The drive to Daryl’s place takes about ten minutes.  The streets are familiar.  The old man with his dog, always standing around at their same corner, waves at him.  Glenn waves back.  At Daryl’s house, he notices the absence of the truck.  It’s winter now, so the motorcycle’s probably in the garage.  The lights aren’t on.

 

“You gave me your keys!” Glenn yells at no one.  He parks his car and steps up to the door.  The bell is working, but there are no movements inside.  He knocks and then kicks at the door when there’s no answer.  There is nothing.  There are a thousand scenarios in his head.  Like: Daryl’s met the love of his life, ran away hand in hand, riding into the sunset.  Or ‘they’ had finally figured out where he’s been, all the weapons and stuff serving as evidence to the massive squirrel massacre in the area.  Or the worst…  They’d found out that Mr. Dixon had a relationship with him while he’d still been a student, had gotten fired, and now on the run from being with a minor and that.  All of Glenn’s worst fears and imaginations come rushing inside his head.  He twists the key in with shaking hand. 

 

The house is empty.  There’s a remnant of warmth like Daryl’s been here not too long ago.  The little dog would usually waddle up to sniff him, but he doesn’t hear the scuffling of paws.  The kitchen is empty.  There’s a mug of coffee on the counter, cooling but not cold.  The laptop is open and there are two stacks of student papers, one graded, the other not.  Glenn touches the track pad to reveal the home screen.  It’s a picture of him, smiling, from the past summer. 

 

They’d gone riding down the country on Daryl’s motorcycle, no route planned, no specific place to go.  There had been a timeline for when they needed to come back, so that Glenn could get back to school for the fall semester.  There’d been minimal clothing and essentials packed into one large backpack.  Daryl had driven with Glenn behind him, backpack strapped behind him.  They’d stopped when they’d wanted to, eat if they got hungry, and ridden together all summer down roads that Glenn would never have seen alone.  Their phones had been off all summer, until the end when they had needed GPS to make it back to Michigan.  They’d made love under the stars when they’d not been able to find a motel, settling for sleeping in the woods under trees.  It’d been the most romantic trip ever.  And the memory rushes back, looking at the picture that Daryl had taken of him.  He’d been stinky and covered in dust, but he’d been happy.

 

He’d hoped to continue the happiness when he’d gotten back for break, but Daryl’s not here.  Glenn looks around the house again.  Nothing’s changed, except for more photos on the wall, another painting still in progress in the back porch.  His bed is unmade, like he’s planning to come back.  Glenn shuts and locks the front door behind him.  Daryl will call, Glenn thinks to himself.  He’s not just going to leave without an explanation.

 

At least, he hopes.  If he’s going to be dumped, there had better be a great reason.

 

\---

 

Andrea and Amy hug and kiss him until he’s red from the lipstick and gloss.  They giggle but give him wipes for his face.

 

They talk over one another about college, about college guys, the exciting things they got to do, and everything else.  The stories overlap and Glenn gets confused about who’s done what and where and with whom.  He grabs another bottle of beer and twists off the cap.

 

They are at a party.  Glenn could not ignore texts and calls from the sisters without it seeming like he was doing it on purpose.  The day after he’d gotten home, he’d called Amy and Andrea.  They’d both immediately said they ‘understood’.

 

“You were getting some last night, I bet.  Sorry we kept calling,” Andrea says, waving at a guy who smiles at her from the other side of the room.

 

“I wasn’t—“ Glenn starts but he doesn’t want to sulk about it at a party.  Even though they are his best friends, he wants to deal with this on his own.  For now.

 

“Uh huh.  That’s believable.  Remember how last summer no one could reach you for three months?”

 

Glenn blushes but raises his hands in surrender.  Andrea and Amy disappear in and out of his view at different times, come back to check on him for a second to find other places to be again.  He’s reaching for another bottle of beer when his hand accidently brushes against another person’s.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“That’s alright.  You can have it.  I’ll just take a different one,” the guy smiles at him longer than he expects someone to smile at him.

 

“Th-thanks?”

 

“I don’t believe we’ve met?  I’m Tyreese.”  Glenn awkwardly takes the offered handshake.

 

“I’m Glenn.  And no, I don’t think we’ve ever met.”

 

Glenn takes several gulps from the bottle.  The guy doesn’t seem to know many people either; he looks older than most of the people here.  Still, he does look familiar, but Glenn can’t think of from where.  A few greet Glenn by name, ask him how he’s been doing and stuff when they come to the ‘bar’ area of the kitchen.  He feels like he’s the keeper of the drinks so he decides to move on.  The guy suddenly speaks up, though a bit shy.

 

“You were in the same class as Sasha right?”

 

“Yeah, we were.”  Glenn remembers her to be one of those smart, long legged, and super pretty girls who’d won prom queen instead of Andrea.  Andrea is a girl who never minds those things (and hadn’t wanted to be prom queen either).  They had been pretty good friends, if his memory serves correctly.

 

“I’m her older brother.  You must have been a freshman when I was a senior.”

 

“Oh yeah, I think I remember.  Football team, right?” Glenn can recall all those football games Andrea had dragged him to.  He’d gone because he’d wanted to be ‘one of the guys’, even though now that he thinks about it, Andrea had probably known he had zero interest in football.  Maybe the tight uniform pants, but not the sport.  He’d been a small Asian freshman and had admired the big seniors.  Tyreese had been one of those big guys, in those tight pants, running and tackling.

 

“Yeah.  Sasha brought me here tonight, but man, I’m not good at these things.”

 

Tyreese’s words peak Glenn’s interest.  “I thought all football players were ‘party folks’.”

 

Tyreese smiles at his air quotes.  “Not me.  Never liked them even when I played football.”

 

“You don’t play anymore?”

 

Tyreese’s lips falter a bit.  “A couple of schools tried to recruit me to play college ball, but I wanted to study, get a degree and to… show people that I was more than just a jock.  So I went to a small university, got a degree and job.  I guess I was insecure about how people thought about me, since I was one of the ‘big guys’.  I wasn’t the smartest while I was in high school.  I never liked that no one expected me to be anything else but a jock.”  He pauses.  “Oh man, I’ve never told that to anyone before.”

  

“Don’t worry.  I won’t tell.”

 

They have a nice conversation.  Amy stops by, introduces herself, with an approving smile, but has to go talk to one of her girls real quick.

 

“Phew.  Never been good with girls.”  Tyreese makes a show of wiping non-existing sweat off his brows.

 

“Yeah, me neither.”  Glenn replies.  Not in the way Tyreese means anyway, he says in his head.

 

“Tyreese!  I’ve been looking for you.  Oh my gosh, hey Glenn!”  He receives a big hug from Sasha.  She looks prettier, more grown up than he’s seen her last.  She’s telling her older brother that they need to go.  There’s another party she needs to make an appearance at.  There’s another hug for him.

 

“Glenn, so uh, maybe, we can hang out again?  I mean, if you want to, and since it’s winter break, but I’m sure you’ve got plans, but…”

 

“I’d like to.”  Glenn says.  They exchange cellphone numbers.

 

“Oh ho, what’s this?  Getting digits while being out all by yourself?” Andrea is suddenly at his side, nudging playfully.

 

“No, he was a nice guy.  What’s wrong with exchanging numbers?  Besides, the guy was so totally straight.”

 

“Mm-hmm.  Sure.  You should get that gay-dar checked out because it’s very off,” Andrea teases.  Glenn makes a face at her, pressing buttons on his phone to save the number.  Suddenly it vibrates in his hand.  The ID says ‘D’.  He goes outside but it’s still too loud.  At the edge of the yard is quiet enough.

 

“Daryl?”

 

[Hi.]

 

“Where are you?”

 

[Listen. I can’t talk for long.  Can you do me a favor?]

 

“Of course.”

 

[I had to leave the cat and dog at the kennel but they’re going to close over the holiday.  Can you pick them up and take them home?  I’ll call ahead to let them know you’re going to take them.  And uh, look in on them?]

 

It hurts because it’s not something he’s expected to hear from his boyfriend after disappearing so suddenly.  Also because he doesn’t answer his question.

 

“Sure.”

 

[Thanks.  You still have the keys to my place right?]

 

“Yes. Of course.”

 

[Okay.  I’ll call you soon.]

 

“I love y—“ But the other line hangs up before he gets to finish. 

  

Glenn heads home, not bothering to tell Andrea or Amy that he’s leaving.  They don’t call or text him all night. 

 

\---

 

Glenn wonders about his relationship; he still has doubts from time to time.  He thinks he’s figured out the thing about Daryl.  Sure, they have years of age difference between them, but when Glenn counts, it isn’t much.  And Glenn figures he’s mature enough for both of them when it comes to thinking seriously about their relationship.

 

Daryl, most of the times, doesn’t take into consideration about other people.  It doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about others, but more like he needs to do things in his own way.  Even if it isn’t considered ‘normal’ by anyone’s standards, Daryl can’t make himself change.  And it’s one of the reasons why Glenn loves Daryl; he’s his own person, one of a kind.  Glenn knows better than everyone else that Daryl has a kind heart and he does consider the others around him.  He just doesn’t show it; he does in his own unique way though.

 

Glenn doesn’t want ‘normal’ and he doesn’t think ‘standards’ are ‘correct’.  It’s why he likes Daryl so much.  He has his own standards.  He knows exactly what’s important to him.  Like his artwork, his odd collection of ancient weapons, going hunting at the most odd times just to get away from all the ‘people’…  His cat, his dog…  Daryl cares about his students, too.  Glenn is pretty sure Daryl thinks he’s special.  Sometimes, he just wishes his boyfriend would show it to him.  Not something like whisking him away on his motorcycle when he feels like it, but something more like…  Saying ‘I love you’ and stuff… 

 

Glenn says it plenty enough.  The first year he’d gone off to college, he’d called almost every night.  He’d called and texted every chance he got because he missed him so much.  Daryl has told him that he doesn’t have to tell him about everything that’s going on in his life.  But Glenn had wanted to.  He still wants to.  Daryl listens and texts back, even if it’s a short ‘yes’ or ‘I guess’.  Sometimes Glenn stops in the middle of a sentence because he’s wondering if Daryl’s listening.  He even thinks if he’s annoying him a little.  But Daryl asks, ‘And then?’  And most of the time Glenn tells him he’s lost his train of thoughts and it’s getting late; I need to go to bed.  But he ends all of his calls with an, ‘I love you’.  Daryl grunts affirmatively and hangs up.

 

It really sucks that he can’t say any of this to Daryl.  He’s scared and frustrated.  When they are together it’s great.  Just being next to him makes his heart beat uncontrollably.  But he just wants to be able to talk to him about what he’s feeling.  It’s been three years dating Daryl and sometimes Glenn thinks to himself, ‘This is going nowhere’.  He doesn’t want to lose him; he’s scared about that, too.

 

He definitely loves Daryl; he knows this like he knows that he needs oxygen to live.  But…  Are they in love?  Does this have a future?  He wants to be able to explain about all of his insecurities about this relationship, about Daryl’s feelings for him.  That he wants this to be more real, to feel real because sometimes, Glenn wonders if it’s just in his head.  A fantasy that’s come to life and remained just that.  He’s afraid to relay all of this to him.

 

“I mean I was just a kid…  Only eighteen!”  Glenn sighs.  He admits it, after the long verbal analysis.  “I don’t think this is a healthy relationship…”

 

He takes a sip of the lukewarm latte.  Andrea and Amy are busy today, so are all of his other friends.  They’ve all got ‘family stuff’.  Glenn’s family had woken him up to say goodbye, and that they’d be back in a few days.  His mom had asked him to video chat on Christmas morning so she can see him open his gifts.  There are two, one from his parents and the other from his sisters, under the small plastic Christmas tree with minimal decoration.  Glenn had felt like the little limp tree.  Even the small ornaments felt pathetic.  He’d crawled back into bed, texting all of his friends who were back in town.  He’d slept until he just could not anymore.

 

Until he’d received a text from Tyreese, asking if he’s done any Christmas shopping, he’d been flipping through channels, skipping over all the holiday crap they played.  He’d almost given up on leaving the house for the day.  He’d showered quickly and left the house.  They’d met up at the mall, browsed through the crowded rows of stores.  They’d picked up some gift items, shared some jokes and mostly, Glenn had fun.

 

“I’m really sorry.  I’ve been complaining this whole time,” Glenn scratches his head, embarrassed.  While resting, drinking lattes, Glenn had relayed all the things exasperating about his boyfriend.  He hadn’t meant to, but Tyreese had been so easy to talk to. 

 

Tyreese looks at him with this mild mannered expression.  “Don’t worry about it.  It sounds like you wanted to vent.  I can listen if you need someone to talk to.”

 

Glenn feels warmed at the words.  It’s exactly what he wants to hear.  It’s what he wants to hear from Daryl. 

 

“Thanks.  I think I’ve vented all I needed to.  You’re a great listener.”  Glenn backtracks a bit.  “I… meant that… As a friend!  I wasn’t hitting on you or anything!”

 

“It’s fine.  Stop apologizing.”

 

“Ooh, what time is it?”

 

“It’s about four thirty,” Tyreese checks his watch.

 

“I have to go.  I’ve got to pick up our pets from the kennel before they close.”

 

“Yeah, I should go too.  Family stuff.”  Tyreese rolls his eyes.  He seems to be dreading it as much as anyone else. 

 

“Have fun!  I’ll text you later!”

 

Glenn gets to the kennel just in time before they close.  The dog wags his butt at the sight of Glenn, tongue hanging out.  The cat is nonchalant.  He puts them in his back seat to drive to Daryl’s place.

 

\---

 

The cat finds his favorite spot by the window as soon as he’s released from his confines.  Dog comes around to sniff his ankle, bumping its nose at him for attention.  Daryl, of course is not here.  After all the venting he’s got to do today (reminding him to text Tyreese with another apology) Glenn does feel a lot better.  Daryl’s probably had an emergency, somewhere.  He’s never talked much about his family, never had anyone over on any of the holidays.  Glenn knows that Daryl’s parents have both passed away, but not how.  He wonders if he has any siblings.

 

Glenn does the sensible thing and decides to stay over, rather than go back to his equally empty home.  At least here, he’ll have some company.  He changes the sheets, putting the dirty ones in the washer.  He looks in the refrigerator and then decides to make pasta.  He feeds the pets as he’s boiling water.  He’s a bit surprised and touched that there’s a batch of freshly baked cookies in Tupperware where they usually are.  He drinks one of Daryl’s beers while chewing on the oatmeal and raisins.  He powers up Daryl’s laptop while the pasta is cooking.  He checks his email and browse facebook.  

 

He stuffs the sheets in the dryer when the pasta’s done cooking.  Daryl doesn’t have a television so he watches youtube videos while he eats.  His phone lies on the counter the whole time.  It doesn’t ding or vibrate a single time.

 

When he climbs in bed to sleep, he’s glad that he’d changed the bedding so that he wouldn’t smell Daryl’s scent all night.  He invites the pets to sleep beside him.  When he presses his face into the soft pillow, he regrets changing the pillow covers just a little bit.  So he snuggles the dog to him, who struggles for a bit until giving up after a few belly scratches.  It’s the loneliest night he’s had in awhile.

 

\---

 

The next day, Glenn walks the dog and cleans the cat’s litter box before driving home for some clean clothes.  He doesn’t forget to open up the presents, taking a selfie with them to send to Mom.  He texts, ‘Thanks for the stuff guys.’

 

He gets back to Daryl’s with his duffel bag on his passenger seat.  He doesn’t admit it to himself that during the ten-minute drive, he’d been hoping that Daryl would be back.  He isn’t, Glenn chastises himself as he parks his car in the driveway.  He dumps the bag on the bedroom floor.  He takes a very long shower, just willing his mind to not overthink about anything.

 

He eats leftover pasta for lunch.  He checks his phone that he’s left charging on the kitchen counter.  There are texts from his relatives and friends wishing him Merry Christmas.  There’s a missed call from Daryl.

 

He calls three times but he doesn’t answer.

 

Glenn sends a text about the pets.  He adds that he’s going to stay in his house because his family is gone for the weekend.

 

Daryl replies a short ‘Okay’.

 

\--There’s no food in the house.  Everywhere’s closed.

 

\--There’s cookies.

 

\--I finished them.

 

\--Sorry there’s no food.

 

\--It’s cool.  I think the Chinese place is open.  And they’ll probably deliver.

 

\--That’s good.  There’s cash in the kitchen drawer.

 

\--I have money.  I’m going to finish your beer.

 

\--I’ll kill you.

 

\--I miss you.  Wherever you are.

 

Glenn stares at the phone screen.  He taps at the glass so it doesn’t go into sleep mode.  There’s no answer for a very long time.  So he searches for an open delivery place, orders enough food to feed ten people.  He watches the sky through the back porch door, watching it turn from bluish grey to a dark blue, the spots of clouds and the tiniest spark of a star up there.  He almost jumps at the doorbell.  He’s short on cash so he uses the crumply bills Daryl’s told him about.  He lays out the boxes and boxes of takeout, arranging them on the dining room table.  After taking a picture of it and sending it to Daryl, he sits down to eat.  He loses his appetite after a few bites.  He puts them all away for later.  He takes the laptop and finds movies to watch in bed.

 

At almost midnight, Daryl sends him a picture.  It’s of a big bright star low enough on the horizon that has lined up to the pointy top of a big evergreen.  The caption says, ‘Merry Christmas.’

 

\---

 

Glenn goes grocery shopping after moping around the house because there’s no food for the pets.  He runs into a few people he knows, ends up talking in the parking lot for a while with Maggie and her sister Beth.  He wants to take their invitation to coffee but he needs to get back.  The dog has done some wreckage to the magazines in the bathroom.

 

He receives a text from Andrea about another party.  He wants to go but declines the invitation.  Daryl sends him a picture of the same scenery but covered in white.

 

\--It’s snowing here.

 

\--You need television.

 

\--Read a book.

 

\--You sound like a teacher.

 

\--Ouch.  You hurt my feelings.

 

Glenn laughs.  He doesn’t know if it’s sarcasm or if he really means it.  Maybe a little of both.

 

\--There’s no snow here.

 

Glenn waits for a reply that doesn’t come.  So he sends another text.

 

\--I think I’ll go to that party Andrea invited me to.

 

Daryl replies.

 

\--I think you should, too.

 

Glenn grabs his coat and keys.  The party isn’t too far away but it’s more crowded than the one he’s gone to previously.  The music is way too loud and it takes twenty minutes to find his friends.  He has a death-grip on Amy’s arm during most of the party, keeps losing at Cups and gets stupid drunk.  He wakes up at Andrea’s the next morning with the worst hangover and spotty memory of last night.  He has awkward breakfast with the sisters and their parents, makes a hurried escape because he needs to get to his pets.  His parents call while he’s driving to say they’re on their way back.  His phone goes dead in the middle of the call.  He turns at Daryl’s street.  His break squeaks when he steps on it hard.  Daryl’s truck is parked in the driveway.

 

Glenn nervously plugs in his phone into the car charger.  It takes ten minutes for it to power on.  He checks his text messages.  He skips the ones from his friends.  He’d drunk-texted Daryl during the night.

 

“Oh my god…” Glenn murmurs at his phone.

 

\--I love you Daryl but its too hard for me maybe we need to think about stuff I need time

 

\---

 

Glenn drives around instead of going back to Daryl’s.  He knows he’s a coward.  He knows he has to face his boyfriend (if he still is!) sometime, but he can’t seem to do that at this moment.  He tells himself that he’s driving around aimlessly because he needs to charge his phone, but that isn’t an enough excuse.  He feels dirty and greasy from last night, wants to change out of his clothes that smells like spilled beer and cigarette smoke.  He can’t go home because all of his stuff is at Daryl’s.  He doesn’t have much of a choice for a good hiding place.  He stops at a coffee joint.  At the counter, he realizes that he doesn’t have his wallet.  He’s turning red, holding up the line, too.  Until a voice says, “I’ll pay for his.  And a medium coffee for me, too.”

 

Glenn looks up. “Tyreese!”

 

They end up sitting by the window.  Glenn feels bad about Tyreese paying for his coffee, asks if he has Venmo, but Tyreese just laughs.  Glenn doesn’t talk about his night or the morning.  Tyreese doesn’t ask.  Tyreese asks him about his Christmas and when he doesn’t answer, tells him about his crazy aunts and uncles at his big family Christmas.  Glenn feels lighter, his heavy mood lifted for a short time.  He’s nursing his cup of coffee for as long as he could, until the door opens with a jingle bell hung at the top of the door.  Glenn looks up, too.  He’s frozen where he sits.

 

All the people inside the coffee shop looks at the man who’s just entered.  Too long hair, leather jacket and boots all spotty with caked dirt, sunglasses on a cloudy winter day, exhuming this air about him…  He has, just as always, an arresting affect on anyone when he enters a room.  He is heading straight for him.  Glenn stands.  His palms are sweaty, so he wipes them on his jeans.

 

“What are you doing here?” Glenn has the nerve to ask.

 

“I saw you.”

 

For a moment Glenn feels like a teenager again.  And then a thought hits him…  What if…  What if he is the one that needs to grow up?  How much has he changed since those days, sitting in Mr. Dixon’s classroom, dreaming about him?  He’s still dreaming of someone so perfect when Daryl isn’t – and he is, at the same time. 

 

Daryl’s face is on Tyreese.  Glenn feels that he needs to explain right away.

 

“Daryl…  This is Tyreese.  He’s Sasha’s older brother.  You remember Sasha, right?”

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Tyreese holds out his hand.  Daryl pauses half a second before shaking his hand.  He doesn’t say anything; just nods with his chin.

 

“I just ran into him,” Glenn continues, “I didn’t have my wallet so he paid for my coffee and we’ve just been talking because I didn’t…  I couldn’t…”

 

Tears are forming and his throat is tight.  Daryl holds him in place with his presence.  It’s Tyreese who gets up, saying, “I have to get going.  Nice running into you again, Glenn.  I’ll tell Sasha you said hello.”

 

“Bye.”

 

After Tyreese leaves Daryl stands there, lips pressed shut, longer than Glenn wants.  They’re gathering unwanted attention.  It’s uncomfortably silent in the coffee shop, holiday music playing merrily over the hidden speakers.

 

“Daryl, it’s not what you think.”

 

“What am I thinking?”

 

“I should be the one who’s mad.”

 

“I didn’t say I was.”

 

“You look mad.”

 

“I’m not.  I’m just… tired.”

 

Glenn sighs.  What happened…  We’re supposed to be happy…

 

“I want to go home.”  Glenn says.  He walks past Daryl, opens the door and steps out.  At his car, he’s cussing at his key that’s decided to not unlock his door.  He can feel Daryl moving towards him.  Arms wrap around him, crushing.

 

“Come home with me,” Daryl’s voice is hoarse.  Glenn stops himself just in time from a sob escaping his throat.  He hadn’t been able to see behind the dark shades.  Now he knows…  “You must give me chance to explain.”

 

Before Glenn can answer, Daryl says, “No.  I meant… Please… give me another chance to explain.”

 

\---

 

The house feels warmer.  It feels like Daryl’s presence has intensified the warmth, the smell like wind while riding a motorcycle…  Glenn tells him he wants to shower.  He takes a long shower, spending extra minutes scrubbing his hair that still feels greasy.  Maybe it’s the guilt or something, accumulating on his skin and in his hair, but he hasn’t done anything to feel guilty.  He steps out of the shower to a steamed up bathroom; cleans his teeth and takes care of the stubbles on his face.  He takes several very deep breaths before exiting.

 

He dresses in jeans and a t-shirt, hair still damp.  He finds Daryl in the living room, in front of the fireplace, poking at the logs.  Glenn seats beside him.  He stares at him, the man he loves, who he’s hurt out of every childish notion he can think of.  Daryl had said please.  It’s a word he’s never used.  Glenn grabs one of the beer bottles Daryl’s set up on the coffee table.  Even if his stomach disagrees, he’s going to need a lot of this.  Daryl’s stays quiet so he speaks up.

 

“I’m not mad,” Glenn takes a long drink.  “I was disappointed.”

 

Daryl nods, eyes remaining on the burning logs.  It feels nice, warm.  Glenn relaxes a bit from the fire.

 

“You know what I mean when I say I was disappointed, right?”  Daryl nods again.  “But I was being childish, too.  I thought…  what I wanted was for you to show me, to tell me that you love me, maybe to prove to me…  Like all of Andrea’s boyfriends… They do these crazy things for her…  Maybe I was jealous…  And a hypocrite.  I keep saying that I love you because you’re who you are but then at the back of my mind, I want what everyone else wants…”

 

Daryl is staring at him.  His head is resting on his arms resting on his raised knees.

 

Glenn diverts.  “Where were you?”

 

Daryl answers.  “I got an older brother.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah.  He’s a lot older.  He’s, uh…  He just got released from prison.  I went to pick him up.  He’s got nowhere else to go…  He can’t live here with me until parole’s over…  So they set him up at a halfway house until…  I’m not sure.”

 

“Wow…  I’m…”  Glenn wants to reach out.  Touch his hand to any part of him.  But he can’t.

 

“I hardly know him.  He went to prison when I was… twelve or so.  I never went to see him…  He wrote to me, kept writing to me even though I didn’t answer back.”  Daryl is staring into the fire again.  Perhaps he can’t look at him while he’s talking about this.  Glenn scratches at the label of his bottle.

 

“I finally wrote back to him… three years ago.”  Glenn counts.

 

“Three years ago, when we…”

 

“Yep.”  Daryl grabs two bottles from the table, twisting the caps, handing one to Glenn.  Glenn lays out cushions and pillows.  They stretch out on the carpet and mold the pillows to comfortable shapes under their bodies.

 

“When I got you,” Daryl’s voice is soft.  Glenn looks into the deep blues of those eyes, his chest tightens.  “I wanted to be… better than I was.  One of those things were making amends with my brother, the only family I have left.  It was so hard.  I hated him.  I hated that he left me alone after… everything.  But when I looked at you…”

 

Daryl’s knuckles stroke over Glenn’s cheek.

 

“There are a lot of things I’ve done in my life you might not like.  I wanted to be less tainted by them before I touched you, before I came into you.”

 

Daryl’s fingers sift through Glenn’s hair.

 

“I told him about you, too.  About… All the things that scared me about this…  I thought he might hate me…  He’d been hateful about… everything that wasn’t… honestly… white, straight and people who were like him.  But he said if I was telling him about you, then I must care about you a lot.  He said he wanted to meet you.  Sincerely.”

 

The fingers rest at his nape, thumb rubbing the skin underneath.

 

“You were insecure about this?”

 

Glenn nods.

 

“I am terrified because I want only you and nothing else.  You’re changing me every single day even if you don’t see it.”

 

Glenn is trembling.

 

“So… I’m going to ignore your drunk text and not going to let you go.”

 

Glenn laughs.

 

“And…  Thank you.”

 

That’s close enough…

 

\--- 

 

Glenn is woken up.  They’d fallen asleep by the fire, the animals squished in between them.  Blankets had appeared and logs fed constantly throughout the night for warmth.  In the morning, Glenn is woken up with kisses and light shaking of his shoulder.

 

“Wha… What?”

 

“Look, baby,” Daryl points to the window.  “It’s snowing.”

 

It really is.  Big white flakes floating down from the grey sky, landing on the world, piling up and sticking together on the surfaces.  It’s all white.  Cold.  World is frozen.  But it’s warm in here, enveloped inside Daryl’s arms, inside this love.

 

“Do you want to move in with me?” Daryl says into his ear.

 

Glenn’s eyes get wide.

 

“I mean, when you’re done school.  Wherever you want to go to, where you get a job at, or here, or anywhere.  I meant it as… Do you want to live together?”

 

“Yes.”

 

It’s perfect…  All the imperfections make this moment so perfect.

 

“But somewhere where hunting is allowed?”

 

Glenn laughs out loud, startling the dog awake and causing the cat to run away.

 

\---

 

Snow keeps falling all day.  They eat leftover Chinese take-out for breakfast and spend the day shoveling snow from their driveway and five elderly neighbors’ houses.  And the rest of the evening in bed watching streaming movies dispersed among other activities.

 

Late at night, Glenn reads text messages with Daryl’s head on his lap.

 

Andrea is excited and happy for them.

 

Amy asks him to a party.  Glenn declines.

 

Tyreese sends him a thumb-up emoji.  And he asks about the cute girl Glenn was hanging out at that party.  Glenn sends him a link to Andrea’s facebook profile.

  

Mom asks him if he’s coming home. 

 

“Um…  Daryl?  I have to tell my parents!”

  

“They already know.”

 

“What?”

 

“I know them from school and then ran into them at the market and stuff.  So told them about us.  They invited me over to dinner a few times, too.  Oh, and we’re supposed to have dinner for New Year’s.”

 

Glenn’s jaw drops stupidly.  Phone slips out of his hand.  Daryl kisses him.

 

“I’m going to sleep.  ‘Night, babe.”

 

I love you, too.

 

\---

.end.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> **Just to clarify ‘came into you’ was not meant to be a sexual phrase… I didn’t know a better way to say it.  If you thought it was… hehe
> 
> Wrote this in Dec 2015 and totally forgot to post it. Better late than never, I guess. No beta. Not even checked for spelling/grammar. If you see something that made you cringe, let me know! I'll fix!


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